Businessman gets 2 years in prison for defrauding couple

February 9, 2018

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A 45-year-old Farmington-area business man faces two years in prison after being sentenced on his fraud conviction for bilking a couple out of nearly $1 million, spending the money instead of investing it in real estate as he said he would.

Bobby Willis of Kirtland was sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Albuquerque after pleading guilty last July under an agreement with prosecutors.

A hearing will be scheduled to determine the amount of restitution Willis will be ordered to pay to the couple.

Willis had sought to be sentenced to house arrest and said health conditions couldn’t be treated in prison, but prosecutors expressed skepticism about his condition and said he deserved prison time.